Dirtcult Records–News

So I’ve held this off for as long as I can, but Dirt Cult can no longer sustain the $3/$10/$10 flat rate shipping prices we’ve sustained for the past several years. We’ve weathered several USPS price hikes and have pretty much eaten the cost of mailers, tape, and other supplies, but Dirt Cult is growing and this means I’ve got to be a bit more practical…stop giving so much shit way for free (even if it is just a cardboard mailer and a few bucks on shipping)…it’s the only way continuing to put out records is going to make sense moving forward. Because, let’s face it, I don’t make a dime from this venture, but its nice that it’s finally starting to sustain itself!  Hope you all understand.

Here is the new price structure, still flat rate, still pretty goddamn cheap…order a more stuff and you’ll still come out on top!

US: $4
CAN/MEX: $10
INTERNATIONAL: $16

More news on upcoming releases coming soon, but hey! there are a lot of them, and any support (in the form of orders) would be awesome!

I suppose somewhat appropriately Shang-A-Lang’s last record of new material, titled”Waiting for the End” will be released on the first week of what many consider the last year of human existance. Shang-A-Lang has been an incredibly prolific band over the past few years, having done countless splits (really, I can’t count them), several 7 inches, an LP/CD, and a Collections LP. The release is between 7 labels that have helped the band out in various ways over the past several years: Dirt Cult, Fast Crowd, Silver Sprocket, Dead Broke, Let’s Pretend, No Breaks, and Drunken Sailor (UK). Each label will have 118 copies. These five songs are probably the best SAL material to date, which makes the break-up even more bittersweet. Featuring the amazing artwork by Mich Clem and Nation of Amanda!

It’s an Xmas micacle! Ok, not really, but I’m fucking excited that this record is finally out! This is the debut from Chicago powerhouse, Fur Coats, featuring members of Das Kapital, Direct Hit!, No Empathy, The Traitors, etc. I got sent these songs, immediately fell in love, and screamed “I’ll do it!” These songs carry on the great tradition of melodic Chicago punk, and the hooks will get stuck in your head for days. Don’t believe me? Stream the record here: http://thefurcoats.bandcamp.com/

Limited to 300 on black vinyl!

OUT NOW ON DIRT CULT RECORDS!

Crow Bait – Three Tickle Guys 7”
5 songs of melodic, haunting punk rock/pop-punk from members of: Jonesin’, Iron Chic, Wax Phantom, Sister Kisser, Halfway To Hell Club. This is a split release with Solidarity (US), Lost Cat (US), Drunken Sailor (UK), ADD (US), and Eager Beaver (Japan)! Limited to 330 on white, and 330 on baby blue

AND COMING SOON STUFF (tentative ship date is January 2nd)

Fur Coats – Don’t Make Me Beg 7”
Great melodic Chicago punk rock from members of Das Kapital, Direct Hit!, No Empathy, The Traitors, etc. Limited to 330.

 Shang-A-Lang – Waiting for the End 7”
Final and dare I say best 7” from this prolific Las Cruces punk bands. Let’s see if I can get this right: After 8 split 7 inches, 2 7 singles, on full length, a collection LP/CD, and several songs on various comps, Shang-A-Lang has decided to call it quits, but not before recording their final batch of songs. This is a split release with Dead Broke, No Breaks, Drunken Sailor, Fast Crowd, Silver Sprocket, and Let’s Pretend. Amazing art by Mitch Clem and Nation of Amanda. Limited to 1000.

AND SOME SORTA DIRT CULT RELATED NEWS!
Also for those of you interested, I’ve taken over US distribution of Drunken Sailor Records (UK). What a great label! I have releases from Tiltwheel, Unfun, The Young Leaves, Exit Condition, The Magnificent, and will have new releases including a split from Off with their Heads/Discharge!!!! as well as an Exit Condition LP in the coming weeks!

Finally found some time to update the distro with some new titles (and still have more to go!). In addition I added a few things to the specials tab: 10 random distro 7″s for $25 or 10 random distro LPs for $60. Maybe you’ve got some extra cash and you want to gamble? Maybe you want to buy some X-Mas presents?

Crow Bait – Three Tickle Guys 7″ is sitting in my living room, but I’m waiting for the other labels to get theirs’ before I put them up for sale…expect those in a week or so. I’m also expecting the Shang-A-Lang – Waiting for the End 7″ and Fur Coats – Don’t Make Me Beg 7″ to be out before the end of the year…so keep your eyes peeled.

Already got a ton of things I’m extremely excited about lined up for 2012. More on that as it approaches!

I’m here to report that great DIY punk bands still spring up every now and again and Peer Precious is one of them. Mike Wilson (guitarist/vocalist whose spent time in bands like The Hard Feeling and Nordic Waste…not to mention filling in on tour for bands like Dead Dog and Chin Up Meriwether and roadying for the likes of Tulsa, Uh-Oh, and probably a dozen more) sent me these songs a few months ago. It only took me one listen to give him a call to ask to put this record out. Heartfelt punk rock that brings to mind Hickey, Onion Flavored Rings, Hello Shitty People, and The Stun Guns…pick up this LP. You won’t be disappointed! (split release with Anti-Civ)

And no that “front cover” icon isn’t on the LP. I’m just too dumb to know how to get rid of it…

One of the odd and/or cool things about running a record label is that on Friday night you can record a demo tape and on Saturday morning you can put it up on your site.

Low Culture is Chris (me) from Shang-A-Lang along with Cade and Sam from Total Jock and Yazatta playing catchy punk rock. The tape is now available in our store and you can also download it for free on bandcamp at http://dirtcultrecords.bandcamp.com/album/low-culture-demo

Also, Peer Precious LPs had a few delays. We should have them in a couple of weeks. Peer Precious is still on tour and has copies available for sale. The Fur Coats 7″ has been sent to the plant. Crow Bait test pressings have been approved!

Wow, thank you all so much for your orders over the past several weeks. You’re keeping me busy and keeping us afloat! I’m trying my hardest to get orders out no more than 24 hours after they are placed, since I’ve been getting enough orders to justify daily trips to the post office at the moment.

Just some quick updates for ya:
First off, EBULLITION is now carrying Dirt Cult Releases! Wholesale accounts or people who want to spend $100 or more on a bunch of rad records should use them so they’ll keep buying our records! I’m also doing a much better job of keep our records in stock at NO IDEA and INTERPUNK so if you’re doing any orders through them feel free to pick up some of ours stuff while you’re at it.
Shang-A-Lang/Rumpsringer – Split 7″ is out!!! These are selling fast and won’t be available at many distros because they are limited to 330 and I don’t have enough to do a lot of trades with.
Turkish Techno – Past Due LP has quickly become our biggest seller in the store. I’m all out, but have  a bunch more coming from Muy Autentico (who this is a split release with) so I’ll continue selling them and packing up the copies I saved for myself until I can replace them with Muy Autentico copies!
Peer Precious left on a full US tour yesterday and confirmed that they recieved 75 test presses of their new LP, Bless this Mess, which they will be selling on the tour with limited edition sleeves. I’m shooting for an October 11th release date for this record! In case you don’t know, Peer Precious is a great new band from Duluth that plays DIY punk inspired by bands like Hickey, Onion Flavored Rings, Stun Guns, and Hello Shitty People! Really great stuff. I think everyone will really enjoy this record…I know I do!
Crow Bait – Three Tickle Guys 7″ are at the plant. These should be out sometime in October. Crow Bait is a new band from Mike Dumps (Jonesin, Iron Chic, Down in the Dumps, Wax Phantom) and some Sister Kisser dudes. Great melodic punk rock! You can check out the record here: http://crowbait.bandcamp.com/
We’re also doing The Fur Coats – Don’t Make Me Beg 7″.  I’ll be sending it off as soon as I get the tracks and the artwork. The Fur Coats are a new band featuring members of Das Kapital, Direct Hit!, No Empathy, The Traitors, Atari Star and more! A regular old Chicago super-group! If your a fan of any of their past bands, this is not to be missed! You can check out the record here: http://thefurcoats.bandcamp.com/
We’re also doing an LP for The Magnificent from the UK! This record is great. Think a punker Billy Bragg, but catchy like the Clash. Oh, and their frontman Jimmy Islip has done some collaborating with Chuck Ragan of Hot Water Music. Very cool! They’re previous LP came out on the legendary Boss Tunage and I couldn’t be happier that they’ve chosen Dirt Cult to release this. It’s a split release with a couple UK labels and a Japanese label so this likely won’t be exportable to those countries. More info on that as I know it. Oh, and they are playing Fest this year so if you’re going don’t miss em!

Oh and also, this weekend I’ll be spending some time updating the distro (it’s been tough lately…I’ve been focusing on getting your orders out in a timely manner) with releases from Dirtnap as well as the new Abolitionist LP, Rainbo Person 7″, some Snuffy Smiles stuff (including the new Your Pest Band 7″ – I don’t think any US distros have this yet), and more! I’ll also be getting some packages from Grave Mistake (new Night Birds LP? YES!!!!), ADD (Shit Creek – Dust for Brains 7″), Recess (all their new stuff and some old stuff), Silver Sprocket (ran out of Shang-A-Lang – Collections LPs – had to get some more!), and perhaps some others that are slipping my mind at the moment.

Alright, so here’s the deal. I’m pretty sure a ton of people have been holding off on ordering anything until all our new releases (that were all sent to the plant at the same time, but arrived at different times are out). However, I’m running pretty low on all our new releases and want to make sure everyone has a chance to pick them up before they’re gone. So I’ve got 300 of these records sitting in my living room and the covers are going to arrive by the end of next week, so I thought I’d just throw it on the site. If their are no unforseen difficulties, this record should be shipping by September 23rd. So order away!

Here’s the info: